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Inspector John Bright #5
Unauthorized Departure: A Mystery
When DI John Bright leaves England to escape the aftermath of a murder investigation, the last thing he expects is to become embroiled in another one.
Detective Inspector John Bright has never seen much going in holidays abroad, and he's certainly not a man to run away from danger. So he's inclined to ignore the death threats he has been getting ever since he put a vicious London crime boss behind bars. It is only when the threats begin to target his girlfriend, Jude, that Bright decides to take her on an unexpected holiday in France.
Driving through the countryside toward Provence with Jude, Bright is lulled by the gorgeous sunlight, the food, and the wine. They stop over in the small, sleepy town of Neufchâtel, where the tranquility is only slightly marred by the obvious tension between the inn's gloomy owner, Louis, and his wayward fiancée, Mariela.
When a local woman disappears, at first Bright and Jude think nothing of it. Then, they learn the shocking truth: She'd been raped and then brutally murdered. Suddenly, Bright finds himself the prime suspect for the first time in his life. Faced with a police force whose language, rules, and customs he doesn't understand, frustrated by his virtual prisoner status, he realizes that his only chance to clear his name is to help them find the killer.
Detective Inspector John Bright has never seen much going in holidays abroad, and he's certainly not a man to run away from danger. So he's inclined to ignore the death threats he has been getting ever since he put a vicious London crime boss behind bars. It is only when the threats begin to target his girlfriend, Jude, that Bright decides to take her on an unexpected holiday in France.
Driving through the countryside toward Provence with Jude, Bright is lulled by the gorgeous sunlight, the food, and the wine. They stop over in the small, sleepy town of Neufchâtel, where the tranquility is only slightly marred by the obvious tension between the inn's gloomy owner, Louis, and his wayward fiancée, Mariela.
When a local woman disappears, at first Bright and Jude think nothing of it. Then, they learn the shocking truth: She'd been raped and then brutally murdered. Suddenly, Bright finds himself the prime suspect for the first time in his life. Faced with a police force whose language, rules, and customs he doesn't understand, frustrated by his virtual prisoner status, he realizes that his only chance to clear his name is to help them find the killer.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published September 6, 2003
About the author
Maureen O'Brien
112 books8 followersAuthor and actress, Maureen O'Brien began writing in 1989 with her debut novel, Close-Up on Death, after rising to fame as Vicki, in Doctor Who.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 17, 2010
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1424627.html
Maureen O'Brien is known to discerning Who fans as Vicki, the first ever 'new' companion to join Doctor Who after the series began. She is also the author of a series of seven detective novels about London policeman John Bright, which started in 1989 with Close Up On Death and finished (for now) in 2004 with Every Step You Take. This is the sixth in the series, and takes Bright and his girlfriend Jude to the French Jura to get away from the stress of his most recent case. The lover of the owner of their hotel is gruesomely murdered, Bright himself becomes a suspect in the eyes of the local police, and Jude is faced with even worse problems. I thought this was exceptionally good. We really get into the heads of the two main characters, negotiating a new and fairly brittle relationship against the background of his job and the French holiday which is intended to bring them together but does not have that effect. There is a major plot twist about two-thirds of the way through which I really did not see coming. O'Brien's writing is as gripping as Ian Rankin's, and sexier. I shall start looking out for the other books in the series.
Maureen O'Brien is known to discerning Who fans as Vicki, the first ever 'new' companion to join Doctor Who after the series began. She is also the author of a series of seven detective novels about London policeman John Bright, which started in 1989 with Close Up On Death and finished (for now) in 2004 with Every Step You Take. This is the sixth in the series, and takes Bright and his girlfriend Jude to the French Jura to get away from the stress of his most recent case. The lover of the owner of their hotel is gruesomely murdered, Bright himself becomes a suspect in the eyes of the local police, and Jude is faced with even worse problems. I thought this was exceptionally good. We really get into the heads of the two main characters, negotiating a new and fairly brittle relationship against the background of his job and the French holiday which is intended to bring them together but does not have that effect. There is a major plot twist about two-thirds of the way through which I really did not see coming. O'Brien's writing is as gripping as Ian Rankin's, and sexier. I shall start looking out for the other books in the series.
July 2, 2012
A fine mystery. What else has she written? I want to read them all. Great plot, characters, set in France.
February 26, 2024
The threats came by email, with no sender and no address. For DI John Bright they are not the first, but they follow the winding up of one of his biggest cases, and the most recent threats have been directed at his girlfriend Jude. His boss suggests two things, warn Jude to put her on her guard, and take a holiday. John Bright favours neither.
Coincidentally, Jude is pressing for them to take a holiday abroad and against his better judgement John agrees. They settle for a driving holiday through France down to Provence.
Having done this trip myself I can say that Maureen O’Brien captures the mood exactly, I was there. The description of their overnight stay at the sleepy town of Neufchatel brought back many memories, except for the presence of Mariela, the rather gorgeous fiancée of Louis, the owner of the Hotel Sanglier, where they have booked to stay the night. She didn’t feature in any of my trips through France, luckily!
After the traditional French breakfast of bread and croissants which only taste right in France, John and Jude set off to visit Chateau-Les-Mines, which they follow with a picnic lunch and an afternoon siesta in the nearby field. Their idyll is shattered by the presence of several gendarme’s who take John in for questioning. But for what? Although Jude can speak some French, she is unable to ascertain exactly what the problem is. The frustration of trying to make oneself understood in a foreign land, and also get one’s head around the chain of command in a foreign police force is brilliantly portrayed.
Eventually the local English teacher is brought in to help with the language difficulty, and Jude finally discovers that John is a suspect in the murder of Mariela. Whilst John is detained, Jude has nowhere to go, the hotel is not an option and so she accepts the hospitality of M Breton, the English teacher. Maureen excels wither description of hospitality in rural France.
Being detained for a crime in a foreign land is pretty terrifying especially in a small rural village, where everyone wants it to be ‘the foreigner’. John Bright really has only one option to find the killer himself.
The mystery was exciting, but running along reasonably conventional lines, and then it shocked me, but that’s what thrillers are all about, isn’t it?
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Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett
Coincidentally, Jude is pressing for them to take a holiday abroad and against his better judgement John agrees. They settle for a driving holiday through France down to Provence.
Having done this trip myself I can say that Maureen O’Brien captures the mood exactly, I was there. The description of their overnight stay at the sleepy town of Neufchatel brought back many memories, except for the presence of Mariela, the rather gorgeous fiancée of Louis, the owner of the Hotel Sanglier, where they have booked to stay the night. She didn’t feature in any of my trips through France, luckily!
After the traditional French breakfast of bread and croissants which only taste right in France, John and Jude set off to visit Chateau-Les-Mines, which they follow with a picnic lunch and an afternoon siesta in the nearby field. Their idyll is shattered by the presence of several gendarme’s who take John in for questioning. But for what? Although Jude can speak some French, she is unable to ascertain exactly what the problem is. The frustration of trying to make oneself understood in a foreign land, and also get one’s head around the chain of command in a foreign police force is brilliantly portrayed.
Eventually the local English teacher is brought in to help with the language difficulty, and Jude finally discovers that John is a suspect in the murder of Mariela. Whilst John is detained, Jude has nowhere to go, the hotel is not an option and so she accepts the hospitality of M Breton, the English teacher. Maureen excels wither description of hospitality in rural France.
Being detained for a crime in a foreign land is pretty terrifying especially in a small rural village, where everyone wants it to be ‘the foreigner’. John Bright really has only one option to find the killer himself.
The mystery was exciting, but running along reasonably conventional lines, and then it shocked me, but that’s what thrillers are all about, isn’t it?
-------
Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett
June 21, 2022
I enjoyed this one , really tense at times.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews